Mina City of Tents – Accommodate 3 Million Haj Pilgrims Every Year

According to ” The General Authority for Statistics ” in Saudi Arabia last year Hajj has seen a total of 1,862,909 pilgrims, of whom 1,325,372 pilgrims came from outside Saudi Arabia, while the total pilgrims inside totaled 537,537 pilgrims. The number of Male pilgrims was 1,082,228 while the total female pilgrims was 780,681 . The total non-Saudi pilgrims numbered 1,692,417 pilgrims, while the total Saudi pilgrims reached 170,492 pilgrims.

The biggest challenge for the Saudi Arabia Government is to give comfortable accommodation to all the pilgrims so that their journey of Hajj / Haj go without any difficulty. Mina plays a vital role in accommodating these pilgrims. It is located inside a low lying valley in the province of Makkha, in Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 8 km to the east of the Holy city of Mecca, located between Mount Arafat and Mecca’s Grand Mosque.The Jamarat Bridge, the location of the ritual of the Stoning of the Devil, performed between sunrise and sunset on the last day of the Hajj, is in Mina. Three pillars stand here, representing Satan or the Devil.

SA Gov has built more than 100, 1000 white tents is Mina side-by-side in the low-lying valley . This is the reason Mina is also famous world wide as Tent City .Most of these tents can accommodate about 50 people. The average price for each pilgrim is $500. All the tents are air-conditioned tents to provide temporary accommodation to 3 million pilgrims who visits to perform Haj. Men and women are not allowed to sleep together at Mina.

Earlier these tents were temporary tents which were installed by the pilgrims themselves. But after a fire that swept through the tent killing more than 350 pilgrims in 1997, the current fire-proof city was built. Each camp is equipped with a kitchen, bathrooms, and ablution facilities. Every tent is color-coded by country and numbered, and all the Haj Pilgrims are supposed to have badges with their color and number on it, in case they get lost.

Watch the Video to see the City of Tents Mina closely inside and outside .